Happy St. Patrick's Day

From my little Irish-Guatemalan beauty!!!








Can I also say I LOVE MY NEW CAMERA LENS!?!?! Look at the difference between the closeups with the new lens as opposed to the old standard lens that I took the full body shot picture this morning with!

Favorite Foto Friday #31 - SPRING FEVER!

Who else is having Spring Fever??? We have gone from our 15 inches of snow last Saturday to 70 degree weather today! I LOVE IT and am so ready for SPRING!

Sophie and I made it out to the park last night and went to the playground! We had so much fun and the weather felt so awesome, despite the mud!



And, I just love this picture of her smelling the flowers from my birthday flower cake from my friends Catherine and Kelly! Thank you soul sisters!!


I have so much more to share from our event filled week! My life feels like a soap opera (without the romance)! Stay tuned!

Be sure to leave a comment if you would like your FFF linked!

Misty, Maddy & Lyza
Maddy & Lyza
Christina, Emily, Ashley & Madeline
Ruthie & Lili - First FFF!
Lisa & Sophia
Katie, Brayden & Arianna
Carrie & Savannah
Debbie & Heidy
Heather, Kyle, Brandon, Devin, Jacob & Allie
Rebekah & Jaden - First FFF!
Alleen & Gabriella the Birthday Girl
Tracy & Brenda
Dena & Allie
Katie, Madeleine & Audrey
Amy & Joey
Farrah, Madisyn & Gracie
Sarah, Micah, Zech, Alec & Aidan
Kathy & John
Shannon & Analise - Private
Lauren, Adam & Amanda
Lisa & Madeline
Kelli & Bella
Heidi & Emmi
Becky, Juliana & Amaya
Becca & Ella
Christina & Aiden
Ellie, Angelena & Angelo
Tonya, Brent, Zach & Gabe
Kerry & Cameron
Denise and her three boys - First FFF!
Rachel & Life In Manila
Kerri & Ruby
Christy, H, L & G
Amy, Brooklyn, Regan & Carson
Kelley and her 7 blessings - First FFF!
Marianne, Finn & Chloe
Stephanie & Maya
Sharon and The Big Three
Robyn & Gabriella
KCAimee, Jacob & Adam - First FFF!
Jennifer, F, K & M
Kelli's KAMDEN!!
Faith, Hope Love Mama & Autumn, Mara & Ian

Update by numbers...

Haven't updated with a real post in a while... so thought I would update what has been going on in our little family with some numbers (thanks Kimber for the idea)!

1= Laptop that bit the dust this week containing the final draft of Morgan's essay that was due on Friday (thank goodness she got that snow day). And, part to fix said laptop is not in stock anymore... e*bay, here I come.

1= Cell phone that also died this weekend that belongs to same said child... you would think the world came to an end without constant contact with all her friends via txt and unlimited weekend talk time (never fear... cell phone under warranty and being replaced).

3= The number of people who have battled the flu in our home over the past few weeks. We are all finally back to health.... only Bug still has some coughing and loose chest congestion.

7= Trips to the doctor or immediate care center over the past two weeks battling said flu virus and broken elbow/arm.

15= The inches of snow we woke up to this morning! It was beautiful but we would have enjoyed it so much more if it had fallen in January or February when you expect it to be winter time and not just days after enjoying a 70 degree day that put you into full spring fever mode.



Which leads to these numbers:

2= Happy sisters who had so much fun playing in the snow! Grant was spending the weekend with my mom... but he had fun in the snow too, just no pictures.




1= The number of Guatemalan snow volcanoes we made in the front yard (don't harass me... it would not pack into a snowman, no matter how hard we tried... so we decided to call it a volcano and Sophie was so excited!)




50= The number of times that Sissy pulled Sophie around the yard in her sled!



51= The lap that send our little Bug into a face plant in the snow when the sled tipped over... poor baby!



2= The number of little hands that enjoyed helping me bake a birthday cake and lick the beaters!




21= The number of days that Sophie wore her hot pink cast! Thank goodness it is off and all is returning to normal. I had to convince her to get it off... I told her that she could not go to the beach with a cast on. So, every morning, she wakes up and says "My arm all better... go to beach!"... how do you explain to a toddler that she has to wait a little bit longer until we get to go there?

27= The number of days until Spring Break!! We can't wait! The 10-11 hour drive... not so much looking forward to that!

40= The number of years I celebrated today! I was able to go out last night to celebrate with a wonderful group of friends! Thank you Susan, Suzanne, Donna, Peggy, Whitney and Stephanie for braving the blizzard and coming out to help me celebrate!



112= The number of posts I have created on this blog

60,000= The number of visitors who have stopped by this blog - Holy Cow (Sophie's new found word)! Thanks everybody for continuing to stop by!!

Favorite Foto Friday #30 - ONE YEAR AGO

This week's FFF theme is "ONE YEAR AGO"... yes, that is right, I want you to go back in your archives and look for a picture taken one year ago this week and post your favorite. If you do not have one from then, please post your favorite from as close as you can get to that...

I have to do a series for my FFF this week... it was unseasonably warm last March and we ventured outside to have a little fun with bubbles. I decided to give Bug the little bubble tumbler to see what she would do with it on her own... I can't believe how little she looks just one year ago!

Determined to do it by herself...


Delicioso!


What is this stuff?


Yeah, I know I'm cute!


Hello neighbors, I'm a big girl now!


Yes, this time last year, we were outside in shorts and this time tomorrow, we are expecting 6-12 inches of the white fluffy stuff. Sigh... I am so ready for spring!

Don't forget, if you want me to link your FFF, whether you accept the challenge or not, just leave a comment and I will link you here. Can't wait to see those pics from last year!

Lauren & Amanda
Amy & Jonathan
Sabra, Hannah & Caleb
Rachel, Makenzie, Madison, Makan & Max
Kerri & Ruby
Becky, Juliana & Amaya
Jennifer & Elena
Kerry & Cameron
Sarah, Micah, Zech, Alec & Aidan
Many Blessings, Peanut & Jellybean
Corey, Luke & Sarah
Heidi & Emmi
Marianne, Finn & Chloe
Christina & Aiden
Kathy & John
Lou & Anne Pearce
Amy & Jeff
Christy, H, L & G
Debbie & Heidy
Lisa & Sophia
Jocelyn & Pacey
Kelli & Kaleb
Mandy & Jadon
Jill & Mario
Becca & Ella
Misty, Madisyn & Lyza
Katie, Madeleine & Audrey
rachel & her angels in the Philippines
Alleen & Gabriella
Amy & Joey
Heather, Kyle, Brandon, Devin, Jacob & Allie
Katie, Arianna & Brayden
Jennifer, F, K & M
Kelli & Bella
Christina, Emily, Ashley & Madeline
Farrah & Madisyn
Kim & Alex
Robyn & Gabriella
Kelly & Skylie
Lisa & Madeline
Victoria & Braydon
Megan & Mackenzie
Tracy's Pictures
Jenn, Rachel, McCaleb & Ali
Holly, Gia & Nino

SHOUT OUT!!

A quick SHOUT OUT to my friend Alma! Her baby girl, Natalia, is OUT of PGN! Some of you may remember her from Guatoberfest last year... she was still waiting on a referral. Natalia is 4 1/2 months old and was submitted to PGN on Valentines Day and got OUT today!!! She will hopefully be traveling to pick her up in about 4-6 weeks!

Another SHOUT OUT to Candy as her baby boy, Jagger, is OUT of PGN as of yesterday!!

And, shout out to Cheri who is finally taking her beautiful Eliana home after 17 months and over a year in Guatemala fostering her gorgeous daughter!

Woohoo! More babies coming home to their forever families!

And... it's OFF!!

Goodbye hot pink CAST!!

Today was three weeks in Sophie's cast and we made it to the doctor with much trepidation and cries of "I don't want it" meaning "I don't want it off"! But, there were few tears during the process of getting it taken off... only initially when they turn the saw on and it sounds like a loud vacuum cleaner. I would have taken a picture, but she was clinging to me and I had to put her in my lap. The saw literally looks like a mini circular saw at it is rather intimidating watching the blade go deeper and deeper and closer to my baby's tender soft skin. Then, they pull out these large wrench and crank it apart and off her little dry, chapped arm...

She was such a trooper and bravely submitted her arm for the final x-rays, which surprisingly showed us that she did not have a radial head fracture (fracture of the ball end of the elbow), instead, the newly formed bone showed that she had what is called a Supracondylar Humerus Fracture, which is the bone of your upper arm right above the elbow. It makes sense since she did not seem too bothered by moving her elbow "joint" before the cast went on, just moving the whole arm seemed to be painful. The good news is... she has full range of motion and does not need any Physical Therapy!



She was still unsure about moving her arm for the rest of the evening, but by the time bedtime rolled around, I saw her using her arm to pick things up, so I believe that all will be back to normal in no time!

And, what I know you are waiting for... some pics:

My sweet girl sleeping last night with her cast still on... glad that won't be thumping me in the head in the middle of the night when she moves around anymore (yes... I still have my bed buddy).



Her frog is watching over her...


And my brave girl with her trophy:

Monday Memories

Spring Break is one month away... something I look forward to every year. We have been going to Destin each year with our dear friends for about 8 years now (missed a couple years in there) and each year, we do beach pictures of the kids and the families. Looking back to these from 2004, I realize how quickly our children grow up... Morgan was 11 getting ready to turn 12 and Grant was 9.





It was the year before Sophie was born and I had no idea how much our lives were going to change with the addition of our little princess. Here is Spring Break 2006... Morgan was 13 going on 14, Grant was 11 and Sophie was 11 months old.



I can't wait for those beach pictures this year... and of course, having my family together at the beach.